Schech + Wetzel

A woman spends, on average, 76 days of her life looking for things in her bag.

This came as quite a surprise to Christian Schech and Bastian Wetzel, alumni of Darmstadt Technical University in Germany, who asked themselves why it is that women lose so much time looking in their handbags for any multitude of objects. In fact, it was during a power failure at a folk festival, one evening that the illuminating idea for SOI was born: women were seen having resorted to using their cigarette lighters or mobile phones as a make-shift light source. Clearly, a proper and professional solution was needed to put an end to the torment of searching.

The requirements were clear, or rather enlightening. All "pocket torches" to date were awkward and inconvenient in their handling. And so a clear request was made to the product designers: develop a lightweight, conveniently-sized handbag-light that is readily portable and straightforward in its use. At the same time, it should be an aesthetically pleasing product which women would find appealing. It was at this point that the team was joined by designer Benedikt Lehnert, whose involvement shaped the design process on an ongoing basis.